It Was Meant To Be
by bittersweetpoofz
Summary: [added note] Future Trory fic! 26 year old Rory goes to Stars Hollow for a visit and the visit brings back memories. Then, she *surprise surprise* meets Tristan in NYC. [She hasn't met him yet but I'm getting there...]
1. prelude

Title - It Was Meant to Be (Part 1)  
  
Author - bItTeRsWeEtPoOfZ  
  
Contacts - bittersweetpoofz@hotmail.com  
  
Pairing - Tristan/Rory with a tad bit of java junkiness  
  
Rating - PG-13 (just as a precaution)  
  
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with "Gilmore Girls". All characters belong to Amy Sherman- Pallidino. If you sue me, you will get nothing because I have nothing. I'm just a poor writer writing for non-profit purposes..  
  
  
  
*~Prelude~*  
  
26-year-old Rory Gilmore woke up with the warm sun on her face and the peace of her old room. She loved the fall; it was just warm enough - not too hot, not too cold. She yawned lazily. She loved waking up knowing that the whole day ahead of her was free of work. She had come back to Stars Hollow for vacation for a week.  
  
She got out of bed and put on her fluffy blue slippers. She shuffled out of her room to look for her mom. Instead, she found a note on the kitchen table from Lorelai underneath an empty coffee pot. It read:  
  
Morning Rory!  
  
Did you sleep well? You probably forgot your old bed's feel. I mean you moved out a loooooong time ago. And you hurt Fred (I named the bed.) feelings by forgetting his feel? Anyway, I'm at Luke's. I got tired of waiting for you to wake up and I took Ivy with me to the diner. Get dressed and meet me there!  
  
Luv ya lots! Mom  
  
Rory laughed aloud. It was so like her mother to name inanimate objects. Plus, she could just picture her mother begging Luke for coffee with Ivy in the background quietly drinking orange juice and reading her latest book.  
  
Rory took a shower and put on her robe. She went into her room and put on some comfortable jeans and a red sweater. Then she put on her shoes and walked to Luke's. On the way, she looked around the town. Not much had change. Some new people here and there, a new store selling ceramic unicorns, the like. But basically, it was still the same loony town of Stars Hollow.  
  
Rory opened the door of Luke's diner and surveyed the scene. Kirk was badgering Luke for more coffee, which Luke wouldn't give because Kirk was hogging up a table. At the same time, Taylor was muttering about how Luke was anti-social and didn't participate in town celebrations. And also at the same time, Miss Patty was flirting with a guy she didn't recognize - probably the new guy in town. Rory smiled. Stars Hollow was as nutty as ever.  
  
Rory spotted Lorelai and Ivy sitting at a table near the window. Lorelai was trying to give 6-year-old Ivy some coffee. Ivy kept shaking her head and then she sipped some of her orange juice.  
  
Rory: "Hey Mom; Hi Ivy!" She smiled brightly.  
  
Lorelai: "Hey you!" replied Lorelai  
  
Ivy: "Hi Rory." She said this in a quiet voice. Ivy wasn't like Lorelai or Rory; she was soft-spoken and not as hyper as the other two.  
  
Ivy was Rory's half sister. Seven years ago, Luke finally confessed his true feelings for Lorelai. Lorelai, in response, came out of her denial and said that she also had feelings for him. They went out for a few months and then Luke proposed. He felt that since they had known each other and liked each other for a very long time, why wait? Lorelai said yes without hesitating and they got married six months later. About a year later, Lorelai gave birth to Ivy.  
  
Ivy took after Luke. She ate healthy food and was kind of quiet. I mean, Ivy had friends but she wasn't loud and hyperactive like her mother and her half-sister. At first, Lorelai protested when Luke said that he wanted Ivy to be raised on "healthy food" or, as Lorelai would put it, "yucky food". Luke argued that Lorelai already had a "junkified" daughter already so it was onlky fair that Ivy should be brought up "properly". Lorelai grudgingly agreed so Ivy was raised up "properly". Ivy was also an avid reader like Rory. Rory had spread her love of books to Ivy and as a result, Ivy was constantly reading.  
  
Once in a while, Lorelai would try to give Ivy coffee like earlier. Ivy would not drink the "elixir of life" as Lorelai called it. And because Ivy was such a good, healthy girl, Ivy was daddy's girl. Don't get me wrong, Lorelai loved Ivy very much - it's just that Luke loved Ivy more.  
  
Luke: "Here's your food, girls." He handed Lorelai a plate of buttermilk pancakes, a side of bacon, and some sausages. Ivy got a turkey sandwich with wheat bread and a glass of milk. "I swear, Lorelai, you'll die one day from a clogged up artery because of all this grease you eat everyday."  
  
Lorelai: "Well, at least I'd die a happy woman." She smiled angelically.  
  
Luke: "You're impossible."  
  
Lorelai: "And you love me for it." She kissed Luke on the cheek.  
  
Luke: "Oh hey Rory. When'd you get in here? I didn't see you come in." He was obviously trying to change the topic.  
  
Rory: "I came in a few minutes ago."  
  
Luke: "Okay, so what do you want?"  
  
Rory: "Um. I'll have a cheeseburger, some fries, and lots and lost of coffee please!"  
  
Luke: "What kind of sane person would order a burger and fries in the morning at." Luke looked at the clock on the wall ". 7:23 in the morning?"  
  
Rory: "Whoever said I was sane?"  
  
Luke (talking to Ivy): "I now officially know why I love you best."  
  
Ivy giggled while Lorelai and Rory both said "HEY!" at the same time, in mock anger.  
  
Luke: "You know I'm just kidding. You three are equally the princesses of my life."  
  
Lorelai: "Aw. shucks Luke, I didn't know you could get lovey-dovey!"  
  
Rory snickered.  
  
Luke (gruffly): "Well, don't get used to it." Lorelai and Rory could tell that Luke was pleased though. "Well, I gotta get back to the diner. Lots of PAYING customers to serve."  
  
Lorelai (mock shock): "Are you implying that we don't pay?"  
  
Luke: "You're my family. you're not SUPPOSED to pay."  
  
Lorelai: "But you just said - "  
  
Luke: "Rory, please entertain your mother while I go and serve sane people. But then again, if you're sane, you wouldn't be in Stars Hollow."  
  
Rory (laughing): "Sure will!"  
  
Minutes later, Luke brought Rory her breakfast  
  
Luke: "Here's your food and some coffee." He poured Rory a cup of coffee.  
  
Lorelai: "HEY! How come she gets coffee when she orders and I have to beg for coffee even though I'm your wife! Life isn't fair." She pouted.  
  
Luke points to a sign that reads: "I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."  
  
Lorelai: "But I'm your wife!"  
  
Luke: "Rory only comes home a few times a year so she only gets "good" coffee, according to you guys, a few times a year."  
  
Lorelai pouted some more.  
  
Luke continued: "Besides, Rory works hard so she deserves a break."  
  
Lorelai: "Are you implying that I don't work hard?"  
  
Luke: "No, I'm saying that Rory works hard comparatively."  
  
Lorelai: "Meanie." She stuck her tongue out.  
  
Luke: "Thanks. I try." And he walked back to the other customers.  
  
To a naïve onlooker, one may have thought that Luke and Lorelai were fighting. However, the citizens of Stars Hollow all knew that they were actually flirting shamelessly.  
  
About half and hour later and 10 cups of coffee later, Lorelai said: "Hey babes, I gotta go take ivy to school and then I have to go to work. So amuse yourself until 3:00 and Ivy should be home by then. You can take her to the park or something k?"  
  
Rory: "Okay." She nodded. And to Ivy: "I look forward to spending time with you, Princess Ivy."  
  
Ivy giggles and Lorelai kissed Rory good-bye.  
  
Rory finished up and walked up to the counter. "Hey Luke?"  
  
Luke (grunt): "Un hunh."  
  
Rory (sweetly): "Do I still have to pay even though I'm related to you?"  
  
Luke grunted.  
  
Rory: "Yay! I'm assuming that means 'no you don't have to pay' in Luke language."  
  
Luke: "Okay. Here, take this." He handed her a package. "I know you'll probably be too lazy to go out of the house for lunch and you got your mom's inability to cook, so I packed a lunch for you for the sake of your health."  
  
Rory: "Aw.. Luke! That's so sweet of you!"  
  
Luke (gruffly): "Well, don't get used to it." Rory could tell he liked her compliment though.  
  
She walked home and changed into more comfortable clothes. She decided to hold a movie day by herself. She decided on comedies and looked in the cabinet for two good ones. She finally decided on "Miss Congeniality" and "Rush Hour". As she rewinded the tapes, she ransacked the kitchen for junk food. She came back with two cans of Pepsi Twist, a bag of BBQ chips, Twizzlers, and the classic popcorn. She said aloud: "What's a movie without popcorn?"  
  
To an ordinary person, he or she probably thought that Rory was setting up the food for five people. But to a person who knew about Gilmore/Danes movie nights, they would have known that Rory could actually eat all of the food.  
  
After watching "Miss Congeniality" and finishing off the junk food, Rory decided that it was time for lunch. She took the care package out of the refrigerator.  
  
When she thought of the words "care package", she immediately thought of Jess, her old boyfriend. A lot of her happiest moments were with Jess.  
  
Forgetting about her lunch, she wanted to look for her old boyfriend boxes. She silently thanked Luke for giving her a care package, which reminded her of Jess, which reminded her of the old boyfriend boxes. She also silently thanked her mother for telling her to keep her boxes because as an adult, she would want them. It was true - Rory DID want them now as an adult.  
  
So she went into her room and looked for the boxes in her closet. She soon found the boxes at the back of the closet underneath a box of her old toys. She took out the three boxes - the Dean box, the Jess box, and the Matt box.  
  
END  
  
AN: Wondering who Matt is? Find out in part 4 when it comes out! (I liked the name Matt since I recently became obsessed Matt Damon  
  
AN2: Sorry about the slowness of my fic. I just don't what to rush it. Form reading a bunch of bad fan fics, I learned that rushing a story totally kills it. The next 3 chapters will probably be about Rory reflecting on her past relationships. And I promise that trory action will come soon! Just be patient and I promise you great things! (isn't that a bible verse or something??) oh and please review/comment on my story so far!! I take constructive criticism, compliments, and ideas! Please review so that I know there are actually people reading my story!!  
  
e-mail: bittersweetpoofz@hotmail.com 


	2. the dean box

Title - It Was Meant to Be (Part 2)  
  
Author - bItTeRsWeEtPoOfZ  
  
Contacts - bittersweetpoofz@hotmail.com  
  
Pairing - Tristan/Rory with a tad bit of java junkiness  
  
Rating - PG-13 - I say the word "bastard" a few times.  
  
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with "Gilmore Girls". All characters belong to Amy Sherman- Pallidino. If you sue me, you will get nothing because I have nothing. I'm just a poor a writer writing for non-profit purposes..  
  
Author's Ramblings: I apologize for the shortness of these parts/chapters. They seem so long when I write them out in my spiral. But when I look at it online, it's so short!! Once again, I apologize. Now on with the story!  
  
To my readers: Thank you so much for the supportive reviews I got!!! hugs You guys are SO great! sniff Yeah okay, I'm not THAT touched. Anyway to the person who wrote that anti-trory review: If you hate Troryness so much, why are you even reading my fanfic? And, I meant "constructive criticism" on my work, not my beliefs! And why didn't you sign your review, hunh? Were you too CHICKEN to stand up for your thoughts?? I thought that a person with such BOLD beliefs would at least take credit for their work!! hmph stupid people nowadays. Well anyway, to my NORMAL readers, thanks for reading and review if you have the time!!  
  
  
  
  
  
*~Dean~*  
  
  
  
Rory looked through the Dean box first. It only made sense since he was her first true love. Actually, no he wasn't. She didn't love him. She never had. She only said that she loved him because she knew it was the only way to get him back. She liked him a lot, yes, but she didn't love him.  
  
flashback .summer after junior year.  
  
Dean: "Rory I have to tell you something."  
  
Rory: "Hmm?" Rory was deep into her newest Russian novel.  
  
Dean sighed. He didn't know how to break this to her. She looked so sweet reading her book on a warm day in the park.  
  
Dean: "Rory, can you stop reading for a moment?"  
  
Rory carefully marked her spot and then set down her book. She could tell that this was something serious: "I'm all yours."  
  
Dean: "Um. I don't know how to say this."  
  
Rory: "Say what?"  
  
Dean: "Okay, I'm just going to say it and get it over with: I have to go back to Chicago."  
  
Rory (frantic): "What? When? Why?"  
  
Dean: "In a month. My grandmother broke her hip and we need to go back to take care of her. My aunt and uncle are taking care of her now, but they need to go back to Los Angeles next month."  
  
Rory: "When did you know about this?"  
  
Dean (guiltily): "About a month ago."  
  
Rory (starting to get angry): "And it never occurred to you to tell me?"  
  
Dean: "I didn't mean - "  
  
Rory: "You might as well have told me the day you left!"  
  
Dean: "I'm sorry."  
  
Rory: "Save it." She packed up and went home. How could he have not told her? Didn't he know that she wanted to spend some quality time with him before he left? What was wrong with him? She stalked home and sat with her arms crossed on the couch.  
  
Lorelai: "Hey cheerful."  
  
Rory: "Hi."  
  
Lorelai: "What's wrong?"  
  
Rory told Lorelai what Dean had just told her.  
  
Lorelai: "Well, maybe you shouldn't have been so quick to judge."  
  
Rory: "Why? HE DIDN"T TELL ME FOR GOD'S SAKE!"  
  
Lorelai: "Did you look at it from his point of view."  
  
Rory (sheepishly): "No."  
  
Lorelai: "He probably didn't want to tell you because he didn't want to hurt you. He didn't want the news to affect the great relationship you guys have going."  
  
Rory: "Maybe. but still! He should have told me!"  
  
Lorelai: "He should have but he didn't. Don't you think you can forgive him?"  
  
Rory: "Well. I guess I can see his point. But after I ran off like that, I can't go back. I'll look like an idiot."  
  
Lorelai: "True. That's Gilmore Girl Rule #6: Never admit you're wrong."  
  
Rory: "Exactly."  
  
Lorelai: "So what are you going to do?"  
  
Rory: "I guess the only thing left to do would be to wait for him to apologize and then I can forgive him."  
  
Lorelai: "Well, that being solved, how 'bout a spontaneous movie night?"  
  
Rory grinned.  
  
A week later, Dean apologized and all was well. They decided to make the best of their relationship until Dean left. Their relationship was. different. Rory was always anticipating the day that Dean wouldn't be there.  
  
Rory (as she walks into Luke's): "Hey mom."  
  
Lorelai (pretending to be serious): "Greetings, daughter of my loins."  
  
Rory: "Ew! Gross mom!"  
  
Luke: "Hey Rory."  
  
Rory: "Hi Luke!"  
  
Luke: "So what do you want?"  
  
Rory: "Just coffee please."  
  
Luke: "That stuff will kill you one day."  
  
Rory: "Then, I'll die happy."  
  
Luke turned and walked away to get Rory her coffee.  
  
Lorelai: "Anyway, what are you doing here? Don't you have a date with narcolepsy boy?"  
  
Rory (sits down in a chair): "We DID have a date, but he said that he needed to baby-sit Clara because his parents had last minute plans. I mean, I offered to stay with him, but he said that Clara had the flu or something, which doesn't really make sense since it's not flu season. I think he's hiding something."  
  
Lorelai: "Wow. That was one long babble. About 6.43 seconds. Of course, I can do better than that. Wanna see?" She didn't wait for a response and continued: "Let's see. what's agood topic I can babble about? OoOo! I know! The Osbournes! That family is so - "  
  
Rory: "Mom."  
  
Lorelai: "What?"  
  
Rory: "Focus."  
  
Lorelai: "Right. Dean, hiding."  
  
Rory: "So what do you think about it?"  
  
Lorelai: "Honey, he loves you remember? He would never do anything to hurt you."  
  
Rory: " Do you really think so?"  
  
Lorelai: "I mean, there must be SOME reasonable explanation for his shadiness. OoOo! Slim Shady! Eminem! Now there's a controversial topic I could babble about! Let's see - there was that Christina - "  
  
Rory: "MOM! I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you here. How many cups of coffee did you have today? That's the second time you got sidetracked in about - " She looked at her watch. "3 minutes."  
  
Lorelai: "Sorry. So, I was talking about.?"  
  
Rory: "Explanation."  
  
Lorelai: "Oh yeah. Like Clara."  
  
Rory: "What about her?"  
  
Lorelai: "Clara is probably scared of you. And Dean didn't want to hurt your feelings by telling you that Clara isn't too fond of you, so he made up a lie so you wouldn't get hurt."  
  
Rory: "Why would Clara be afraid of me?"  
  
Lorelai: "Um.. hello! If you were a seven year old and someone came up to YOU and started questioning you about your grammar mistakes, wouldn't you be scared?" Rory laughed: "I guess I would. But anyway, since I have nothing to do, I'll go home and read a book."  
  
Lorelai: "Aw. that makes you sound so. unwanted."  
  
Rory: "You're funny. now go to work before you're late!"  
  
Lorelai looked at her watch. "You're right! I'd better go before Michele starts throwing a fit and scaring off the guests. Can you pay the bill for now? I promise I'll pay you back when I get home."  
  
Rory: "Okay okay! Just go!"  
  
Lorelai: "Bye sweets! Don't burn down the house!"  
  
Rory: "GO!"  
  
Lorelai: "Going!"  
  
Rory finished up her cup of coffee and then went up to the counter.  
  
Rory: "Hey Luke. What's the total?"  
  
Luke: "um. $6.73"  
  
Rory handed him a ten dollar bill.  
  
Luke: "Here's your change, have a nice day."  
  
Rory smiled: "You too Luke!"  
  
Rory walked home and found her worn out copy of Pride and Prejudice. It was one of her favorite books and she wanted to re-read it. She looked out the window and saw the sunshine. The day wasn't too hot so she decided to go read in the park.  
  
She packed a beach towel and a water bottle. Then she changed into a simple tank top and shorts and then slipped on some flip-flops. Then, satisfied with her outfit, she walked to the park.  
  
When she got to the park, she walked along the path in search of a shady spot. But what she found was much more that a shady spot - she found the truth.  
  
She saw a familiar face. It was Dean. and he wasn't alone. He was with a leggy blonde and they were heavily making out. Their hands were moving all over each other's bodies. Rory was shocked. She couldn't believe that Dean had fooled her all this time. Dean, loyal Dean was a two-timer! Disgusted, Rory ran away back towards her house.  
  
Dean heard loud, quick footsteps so he looked towards the sounds and saw the back of Rory. He continued making out with Sharon. He didn't even like Rory anymore. She wouldn't try anything new because she "wasn't ready" and he got tired of waiter for her. So he started dating Sharon a few months ago. In fact, today was their 3-month anniversary. And Sharon was fine with going out in secret. So he let Rory go without running after her. It was better this way: now he and Sharon could go public.  
  
Back at the Gilmore house, Rory was sitting on the couch. She wasn't crying. After a few minutes, she realized that she wasn't crying. After pondering about her lack of tears, she concluded that she didn't truly love Dean. Then, she realized that it didn't hurt so much anymore, She became tired and decided to take a nap on the couch so that she could hear her mother when she came home.  
  
When Lorelai came home, she saw Rory sleeping peacefully on the couch. She didn't want to wake Rory until it was time for dinner.  
  
Lorelai opened the freezer and took out a frozen pizza. She unwrapped it, set the temperature of the oven and then set the timer. She had done this so many times before that she didn't even have to read the label for the instructions.  
  
Then, she opened the fridge and took out some cartons. She opened the lids and identified the food as chow mien, egg rolls, and some sort of chicken. The food was from over a week ago. Rory would have probably made her throw it away but "Oh well! What's the worse that could happen?" thought Lorelai.  
  
After the pizza was ready and the Chinese food was reheated, Lorelai woke Rory up.  
  
Lorelai: "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty."  
  
Rory: "Oh hey mom. When'd you get home? I didn't hear you come in the door."  
  
Lorelai: "About 45 minutes ago. I made some pizza and reheated Chinese. You up for it?"  
  
Rory: "Add Mexican and we'll have multicultural food night!"  
  
Lorelai: "Deal! I'll cook some mini-tacos and taquitos and they'll be done in about 15 minutes!"  
  
Rory: "Okay. SO we'll eat pizza and Chinese while waiting right?"  
  
Lorelai "Of course! It would be blasphemous if we didn't!"  
  
Rory laughed.  
  
An hour and lots of laughs later, the Gilmore girls finished off the food. They talked about mad movies for a while and the Lorelai went up to bed.  
  
Rory had taken a nap earlier so she wasn't tired. So instead of sleeping, she lay in bed thinking about the day's events. She knew that running in flip-flops made loud noises and she also knew that Dean would have heard the noises. Yet he didn't stop her or even try to explain the situation - not that there was an acceptable explanation for the make-out fest. She came to the conclusion that she was going to ignore Dean and if he tried to make-up, she'd dump him. So much for 'quality time' she though bitterly.  
  
Over the next few days, Rory went about her normal activities. She didn't try to avoid Dean since she didn't do anything wrong. On the fourth day, Lorelai finally noticed something wrong.  
  
Lorelai: "Morning Mini-me"  
  
Rory: "Hey mom."  
  
Lorelai: "Isn't summer?"  
  
Rory: "Yeah. so what?"  
  
Lorelai: "So shouldn't you be hanging out with your FRIENDS instead of hanging out here and reading?"  
  
Rory could see where this was heading: "I do hang out with Lane."  
  
Lorelai: "I mean your OTHER friends."  
  
Rory: "What do you mean? Lane's the only friend I hang out with." She was obviously trying to avoid the topic.  
  
Lorelai: "I mean, the six foot two kind of friend."  
  
Rory: "Do you want some pop tarts?"  
  
Lorelai: "Rory."  
  
Rory: "How about coffee? You always want coffee. I'll pour you a cup right now."  
  
Lorelai: "Rory, you're much more important than coffee, even if it IS the elixir of life. So spill."  
  
Rory told Lorelai the story and Lorelai's first reaction was: "That bastard!"  
  
Rory: "Mom!"  
  
Lorelai: "Well he is! The nerve of that boy! I will personally hunt him down, decapitate him, and then hang his head on a pole and stick it in our yard as a warning to anyone who tries to hurt my Rory."  
  
Rory laughed. "No really Mom. I'm okay."  
  
Lorelai: "Do you want to wallow?"  
  
Rory groaned: "Not this again!"  
  
Lorelai: "Seriously, I can take a few days off work to wallow with you."  
  
Rory: "LISTEN! After I saw them, I didn't even cry or throw a tantrum or anything. I'm fine!"  
  
Lorelai sat there: "Go on."  
  
Rory: "I think it's because I don't love him. I mean, for a while now, I've felt like Dean was getting to be a habit or some kind of obligation. Our kisses had no more sparks anymore. I think it's either that I slowly stopped loving him or I never loved him from the start."  
  
Lorelai: "Wow. someone had some divine revelations at night."  
  
Rory: "Yeah. I think that I never loved him. At the beginning of last summer, I only said that I loved him because I thought it was the only way to get him back."  
  
Lorelai: "So what are you going to do about?"  
  
Rory: "Nothing. I'm just going to go on with life as if that 'bastard', and I'm only quoting you, never existed."  
  
Lorelai: "You mean, you're not going to take revenge or anything?"  
  
Rory: "Nope."  
  
Lorelai: "No 'I hate you, you bitch!' to the blonde in front of everyone?"  
  
Rory: "Nope."  
  
Lorelai: "You are such an angel."  
  
Rory: "Hahaha."  
  
The next day, Lorelai casually told Babette about "the bastard" and what he did while borrowing sugar from Babette. Babette was so shocked that she didn't realize the Gilmores had no need for sugar since they never cooked. Lorelai, satisfied with completing her mission, went home and dumped a cup of sugar into the trashcan. She knew that Rory wouldn't approve but since Rory wasn't doing anything, she was going to do it for her.  
  
Babette hurried over to Miss Patty's Dance Studio to tell the latest gossip. Miss Patty heard the news and gasped in shock: "That bastard!" Babette: "That's what Lorelai said when she first heard the story."  
  
Miss Patty: "Poor thing."  
  
Babette: "Yeah. I feel so sorry for her. She must feel terrible!"  
  
Miss Patty: "Well, we have to do something!"  
  
Babette: "Yeah!"  
  
Miss Patty: "We should tell Taylor to fire that bastard!"  
  
Babette nodded: "I don't want a dirty scumbag touching my groceries."  
  
Miss Patty: "Let's go."  
  
When Taylor heard the news, he was furious. He couldn't believe that when he hired Dean, he thought that Dean was a nice decent boy. He agreed to fire Dean the next day when he came in to work.  
  
When Rory got home, she looked for Lorelai.  
  
Rory: "Mom?"  
  
Lorelai: "In the kitchen."  
  
Rory: "Hi."  
  
Lorelai: "Want some tater tots? Fresh out of the oven!"  
  
Rory sat down, took a tater tot, dipped it into the ranch sauce and then popped it into her mouth. She took a sip of her mom's Pepsi One. (AN: just wanted to let you know that I am in no way affiliated with Pepsi. Don't sue me)  
  
Rory: "So what did you do today?"  
  
Lorelai: "Um. I slept in, went to Luke's, read Time and Newsweek and then made some tater tots while watching reruns of 'I Love Lucy' "  
  
Rory: "Anything ELSE you might have done?"  
  
Lorelai looked at Rory innocently. "No. why do you ask?"  
  
Rory: "12 people asked how I was feeling, 5 gave me Kleenexes and 3 offered be their phone numbers for counseling."  
  
Lorelai: "I MIGHT have mentioned something about you and what that bastard did."  
  
Rory: "MOM!"  
  
Lorelai: "Well, you weren't going to do anything about it so I did."  
  
Rory; "Now the town will think that I'm immature and trying to get revenge by spreading rumors."  
  
Lorelai: "Well, the town loves you and will always be on your side."  
  
Rory crossed her arms: "Hmph!"  
  
Dean couldn't handle the death glares he had been getting for cheating on Rory. Luckily for him, his family moved back to Chicago before Dean tipped over the brink into the world of insanity. end flashback  
  
Rory looked back to that as kind of "learning from her mistakes." From then on, she never said 'I love you' unless she truly meant it, not out of obligation.  
  
She closed up the Dean box and put it back in her closet, beneath a pile of old clothes that she never bothered to throw away. She knew she wouldn't be looking at the box again anytime soon. She looked at the next box. the Jess box.  
  
END  
  
  
  
AN: I know, I know. I treated Dean too nicely. I should have made him die a terrible death! Like being in a modern Nazi concentration camp or something even worse! But alas! (fake princess faint) I have a pure heart and decided to let Dean go without pain. Anyway, in the first draft of this part, I made it so that Rory just found out he cheated on her and then the whole time of Stars Hollow gave Dean death glares and Dean begged his family to move out of town. It was weird so I changed it. Thanks to pinkpuruu for the idea of the Chicago move so it didn't seem so sudden. Go read pinkpuruu's fanfics!  
  
AN2: There might not be updates for a while because I have to study for midterms (yes. I'm one of those sad people who have classes in the summer.) In fact, I wasn't even supposed to be writing this, I was supposed to be studying! sigh I wish that I hadn't taken summer classes.  
  
AN3: If you're going to e-mail me, put "fanfic" as the subject because I delete e-mails from people I don't know. 


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